

Cade Klubnik has never shied away from lofty targets, but the Clemson senior’s latest remarks suggest the bull’s-eye on his back has only grown larger.
As analyst Joel Klatt put it, “And my number 1 quarterback going into next season in 2025 is Cade Klubnik.” Klatt’s endorsement continued: “I’m a big believer in Clemson, mainly because I think Cade Klubnik is gonna be the best quarterback in college football.”
Those sentences, delivered on national airwaves, lit the fuse for a summer of speculation in Tiger Town.
Klubnik‘s momentum is not accidental. After a sputtering 2023 campaign-Clemson finished a humbling 52nd nationally in total offense-he overhauled his footwork and decision-making during the 2024 off-season.
The payoff was immediate: sharper reads, improved deep-ball accuracy, and recognition from analysts such as Tyler Nohe, who labeled him “the most improved QB in the country.”
The renaissance vaulted the Tigers back to the ACC summit and into the College Football Playoff conversation, even if last December ended just short of glory.
Yet statistics alone will not satisfy the Austin native. “I came to Clemson to win one, and it’d be really cool,” Klubnik told On3, “But I think more than anything, I want to be remembered for the person I was off the field as well, and the impact that I had on people. Because I think that’s going to carry on for a long time, too. To do both of those would be really awesome.”
In other words, rings and relationships share equal billing on his personal scorecard.
Week one in death valley: a clash of tigers
That dual legacy faces its first crucible on August 30, when LSU visits Clemson for the opener of a home-and-home series between the nation’s two “Death Valleys.” The prime-time kickoff (7:30 p.m. ET on ABC) will mark Clemson’s first meeting with LSU since the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl and the first season-opener between the programs.
Both quarterbacks headline early Heisman odds. LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier sits near the top at +800, with Klubnik close behind at +1000.
Whichever signal-caller emerges victorious could seize a crucial narrative edge before the September leaves begin to turn.
The stakes for Clemson extend beyond trophies and odds sheets. Head coach Dabo Swinney has not hoisted a national championship since Trevor Lawrence’s 2018 masterpiece, and every season since has prompted louder outside questions about the Tigers’ staying power.
Analyst Josh Hannon distilled the pressure: “If LSU goes into Death Valley, the Clemson Death Valley, this fall and wins that game convincingly in week one, I think there’s going to be some pretty negative talk around Dabo Swinney and his program.”
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